Daley's Nephew Brings More Questions of Clout

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jun 23, 2009 3:40PM

As if the ongoing rift in the Daley family over mayoral nephew Robert Vanecko's connections weren't bad enough, the Bright One brings us more evidence of corruption in the mayor's family. According to records obtained by the Sun-Times, the city has been leasing property from clouted landlords, often at rental rates higher than market. Adding to the problems for the mayor is a warehouse at 3348 S. Pulaski that Vanecko and his business partners acquired, and which the city has paid more than $480,000 in rent over the past 15 months. The city uses that space to park dump trucks.

Among the other questionable dealings the Sun-Times found are:

• The city pays the most per square foot for a branch library in Chinatown -- more even than it pays for downtown office space.
• The city has three leases with landlords who are clients of the insurance brokerage run by the mayor's brother, Cook County Commissioner John Daley.
• Two of the city's landlords have hired the law firm of Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) -- in one case to win a cut in their real estate taxes on property leased to the city.

Both the City Inspector General and federal prosecutors are looking into nearly $70 million worth of investments made by city pension funds into DV Urban Realty, which was formed by Vanecko and Daley fundraiser Allison Davis.